Speaker 1: 0:16

Welcome back to Market it with Atma, where we share the tips, tools and strategies to help your business be successful. I'm your host, dori, and today we have on the show Samantha Ibarra with Ibarra Law Firm. Welcome, samantha. Thank you for having me. Dori, thank you for coming on this show. I can't wait for our listeners to hear about your journey. So can you start with what inspired you to become a personal injury attorney?

Speaker 2: 0:40

Of course, my parents, really my mom and dad. I'm the first one in my family to go to college. My parents did not go and from a young age they were kind of like, you know, typical Hispanic parents they're like you, can either be a doctor or a lawyer. Which one is it going to be? I don't do blood and I don't do hospitals. It was just that was out of the question. So that left being an attorney.

Speaker 1: 1:14

So what kind of inspired you to strictly focus on personal?

Speaker 2: 1:15

injury and how long ago did you start the journey with your own law firm? So, personal injury, I just really feel like I can help people and also, you know, it also doesn't mess with my mental health too much. I did family law for a little bit and that was just, that's a lot.

Speaker 2: 1:32

It's a lot to have kind of your own struggles, like everybody does, and then to take on people's struggles. Um, so I made the move to personal injury and I get to do what I love to do and that's helping people, and I also get I also. You know, stay sane.

Speaker 1: 1:48

No kidding Family laws, it's hard from what I've seen it is, and personal injury. At least you're trying to win them something at the end of the day, whether it's peace of mind or a settlement right, Correct?

Speaker 2: 2:00

That's awesome.

Speaker 1: 2:02

So you focus on empathy a lot at your firm and this is something we don't typically see in a lot of law firms right. So how do you ensure your clients feel supported and that you empathize with them?

Speaker 2: 2:16

It's really just being a human being with our clients, like I'm an attorney, that's my job. My job is fight for my clients, um, and fight for what they, for what they deserve. But it's also there's that human touch to it that I think a lot of lawyers especially lose, um, not saying all, but a big, a big group of them do. Um, people just end up being their case, rather the person behind the case, or they end up being you. They're a value to the firm monetarily, but not, you know, you use that. You lose that human touch. So we're all about keeping that as our main focus in the law firm. So we're constantly checking in with our clients. If they're undergoing surgery or if they're getting any kind of you know, they're having shots done or anything like that, we put it on our calendar, we check in with them the day of the day after, see how they're doing, and then pretty much that's how we guide our cases.

Speaker 1: 3:11

Yeah, so not turning it into just a job Correct? It seems like a majority of attorneys do. I'm not saying all of them, but it's nice to know that you have that empathy.

Speaker 2: 3:22

And so you started your law firm about a year ago a little over a year ago yes, actually a little over a year ago of. I believe it was October. 2023 is when we started, and it's been definitely a journey, since I was working at a big law firm before, and I had worked at big law firms before that, and that's kind of what drove me to open up my own law firm, just seeing the lack of empathy. I was doing what I always wanted to do. I was an attorney, I was working for people, I was supposed to be helping them, but I wasn't, you know, working in a big law firm. I had like 250 cases by myself and it was just go, go, go. And it was just go, go, go, go.

Speaker 2: 4:08

And we're not it's, it just got to the point where it wasn't about the client, it was about the money and it was about how many cases we can juggle at once. And it didn't really matter how well you juggled them as long as you did Right and I just I one day it actually happened was I had a client come in and I was her attorney. For some reason, the law firm gave her case to me when she was with a different attorney before that. So she came in for a meeting, thinking she was going to meet with the attorney that had been assigned to her case all along and her case was pretty far in, yeah, and I walked through the door and she was upset, and rightfully so.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Right.

Speaker 2: 4:43

I mean it's's you especially. I mean you get attached to a certain person on your case. They know everything about it. Now you've got a new person. What do you do? So I sat down with her, we went over her contract, we went over um all the details of her case and she kinda, she was upset, she grabbed the file and she threw it at me.

Speaker 1: 5:02

Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 2: 5:03

And it was. At first I was really angry because I was like, okay, like wait, hold on what, what, what's happening here? But then I had to take a step back and put myself in her shoes and how I would feel if I was her, and I was like she has every right to feel this way. Um, it's misdirected, it shouldn't have been directed at me, but it's but. But she has every right to feel that way. So after that I went home and I talked to my husband and I was like I'm not doing what I wanted to do anymore. I'm not helping people.

Speaker 2: 5:29

I'm just a number here, and they're just a number and I'm just trying to keep from drowning with all these cases and it's just not helping anybody.

Speaker 1: 5:37

Yeah, I've always heard you're successful when you do what you love, and so you kind of branching out and doing what you love does it make you feel like you're giving more quality to each client?

Speaker 2: 5:48

now it does, especially because I get to keep the passion that's been driving that for me all of these years. Because when you work for a big law firm at least for you know some of the ones I worked for, not saying they're all like this but when you work for a big law firm you're kind of just go, go go. You're being bombarded with a heavy caseload that even if you start out with the purest of intentions, it gets lost. You get so burnt out. So with opening up my law firm I get to keep the passion behind it. It doesn't get lost and that's the most important thing.

Speaker 1: 6:21

That is. It's so important that you can actually remember each client right At the end of the day, you know who you talked to that day. So what strategies have you used to get your name out there and build brand recognition and let the DFW area and Rio Grande Valley area right know who you are and how you're here to help?

Speaker 2: 6:41

So the strategies have been a little bit different for both. So Rio Grande Valley I'm actually born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. I left for college at 18 and then never really went back, but my entire family's down there, so down there it's been marketing, obviously Google ads, Facebook, social media and then word of mouth, because all of my family there In DFW it's definitely been interesting to market here. So I did just start with you all with Adventurity Marketing, which I'm very excited about, that partnership. It's been a journey because so I'm from the Rio Grande Valley, I went to law school in Houston and then we moved here to Dallas.

Speaker 2: 7:23

So it's very difficult to kind of dip your feet in when you're not from the area. You didn't go to school in the area, so really we've just been doing what we can going to networking events, going to giving out backpacks to children, going to churches and donating, because that's really where our heart lies to with people. I'm donating because that's really where our heart lies to with people and then I'm hoping that, you know, from there on they'll see where our heart lies and they'll see our passion with everything and they'll come to us and see the difference that, the difference between us and, you know, most other law firms out there.

Speaker 1: 7:57

That have a caseload of 250, right Right. So we use the build, launch, grow scale terminology. I know we've gone over this in the past before you mentioned you're still in the launching phase. What steps are you focusing on right now to ensure a strong foundational growth in the DFW area? You're kind of spread all over Texas, which is unfortunate because you have great contacts, I'm sure, everywhere, but you really need your clients to feel that empathy.

Speaker 2: 8:26

And.

Speaker 1: 8:27

I assume that your caseload in DFW is still growing?

Speaker 2: 8:31

So how are?

Speaker 1: 8:32

you managing that, the launch phase?

Speaker 2: 8:35

Launch phase, really just getting out there to as many community events as we can, since I'm not, you know, I wasn't born into this community, wasn't raised in this community, but now I'm a part of it. So going to as many community events as we can, just going, you know, really just going to and going to our community. So I'm Hispanic, right, so I'm Hispanic. So going to our communities too and sharing with them what we do and the purpose behind it communities too, and sharing with them what we do and the purpose behind it.

Speaker 1: 9:07

I know you mentioned you had a family member when you were younger that was in an auto accident. Is that kind of what drove you to be in this specific area of law?

Speaker 2: 9:16

Yes, so actually I grew up wanting to be a criminal defense lawyer.

Speaker 2: 9:22

Oh, wow, yeah that that's actually where I thought I was going to go, and then life just had different plans. I ended up having, yes, a family member who was involved in a car accident. It was very traumatic, and seeing the way that the attorneys dealt with everything was that was traumatic too, because you don't realize, you know, when you're involved in a motor vehicle accident, for some people it's like a fender bender, but for a lot of people it's life-changing. And you go to an attorney and you think you know I'm in good hands with them or at least I should be. They're going to take care of me, they're going to guide me every step of the way, they're going to be there when I have questions and that's not always the case, and that's more often than not not the case, and than it is, um. So we had that experience with that family member. So for me I was like you know what I really want to? I care about people and I want to actually make a difference um so that that really did, did push, that, that's great.

Speaker 1: 10:23

So you would say your parents are kind of your biggest inspiration. Oh for sure. So how has their work, ethic and values shaped the way you approach business and clients now?

Speaker 2: 10:34

I would say I have a very strong work ethic. I never stop. It never stops. I start working when I wake up and I don't stop until I go to bed at night, and sometimes that's 2 in the morning, Sometimes it's 4 in the morning, but it is what it is stops. I start working when I wake up and I don't stop until I go to bed at night, and and sometimes that's two in the morning, Sometimes it's four in the morning, but it is what it is. And my parents the motivation that I get from them pushes me through that. But yeah, I mean my parents, you know. I, like I said, they didn't go to college, so I saw them work three to four jobs, pay the bills. I saw, you know, such a strong work ethic and they never complained. Oh wow, it was always about me and my sisters.

Speaker 2: 11:12

I'm one of three, one of three girls, and I'm the oldest and it was always about me and my sisters, and I never saw my parents complain about anything. And so you know, what I find is that my motivation does come from them, and I'm glad that it does, and I'm glad that it comes from something other than myself, because when you do something for yourself, while that's great, I feel like sometimes it can just get a little selfish you know, you can become a little too I don't know just too involved in the materialistic things like oh, it kind of turns into well, I want this new Chanel bag, or I want a Birkin, or I want, you know, I want to drive the newest Porsche.

Speaker 2: 11:47

My motivation comes from my family, so I think that helps me stay humble too.

Speaker 1: 11:52

Absolutely, and it helps you relate to all kinds of different people, right. Luckily, you are bilingual, so that's a huge benefit to someone trying to reach out to a personal injury attorney, because it's really hard to navigate, especially if you don't speak the language, so it's a wonderful attribute you have. What would you say is one of the biggest challenges or hurdles that you've overcome, and what advice would you give to somebody wanting to start their own law firm or be a personal injury attorney?

Speaker 2: 12:26

Challenges. I mean a lot, but in the realm of opening up your own law firm it's kind of just getting started is the biggest challenge. Believing in yourself is the biggest challenge because you know if you don't believe in yourself you're not going to get far. But it's believing in yourself and then remembering why you're doing what you're doing.

Speaker 2: 12:45

Because, again, that's so easy to lose, Especially in personal injury. You know, there's, I mean, even in the legal field, there's galas, there's parties always going on, networking events that get a little crazy sometimes and it's so easy to lose yourself in that and just want to be like, well, I want to be the best, because I want to drive the best, because I want to have, I want to have the best materialistic things. And if you're in it just for the money, in my experience and just the way I think about things you're, you're not going to get far.

Speaker 2: 13:19

You have to. You have to be in it for the people.

Speaker 1: 13:21

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 13:22

So it's just remembering your purpose and then just believing in yourself, because if you don't believe in yourself, I mean nobody else is going to.

Speaker 1: 13:29

Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 13:30

It starts there.

Speaker 1: 13:31

In any business right. You can't hold your own self back. You got enough holding you back, right? That's wonderful to hear. So. Empathy and trust are critical in the legal field. How do you communicate these values in your marketing efforts? Are you wanting your audience to see hey, I'm here to help? And how do you go about doing that?

Speaker 2: 13:55

I think it's all about how Well people their first impression of you is all you know pictures, videos so I think it's all about how people perceive you and how you want to be perceived so with us. That's why we push empathy so much. So if you look at our website, it's got I mean empathy written across it. I don't know how many times our videos are all about us being empathetic and how we do. We essentially we fight for our clients with love, you know, because that's just that's our, that's our passion. That's why we started this. So it's really just, you know, it's really that just pushing that over and over and over again, like we're going to fight for you, we're going to do everything we need to do for you, but we're going to do it in a way that's going to matter.

Speaker 1: 14:38

That's wonderful. So luckily you're able to partner with another attorney in the Rio Grande Valley. Is that correct? An extension of a bar law firm?

Speaker 2: 14:47

So no. So the Rio Grande Valley. I have case managers down there. I do have an of counsel attorney out of San Antonio, Okay, great.

Speaker 1: 14:54

So that's a satellite office for you and you still appear down there and meet with your clients. Yes, you're a busy lady, I am, so what's the next step for a bar law firm and like goals for this?

Speaker 2: 15:07

2025 year Really just reaching more people. For me, it's all about reaching more people, whether they become clients now or they become clients in the future. I just want people to know that we exist. I want them to know why we exist and what we can offer them, and how it differs from what other people can offer them. Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 15:25

So can you give us a brief how people can contact you if they maybe just have questions? You mentioned you offered a free consultation.

Speaker 2: 15:34

Yes, so yes, so we do car accidents. And then we also offer estate planning services and probate. All of our consultations are free for estate planning and probates 30 minute free phone consultations, so there's no reason. Nobody should know what they need to do. It's again free. And then personal injury yes, everything's you know up front is free. Then we take our fee at the end.

Speaker 1: 16:00

So you make sure that you're fighting for them, because in return, you also receive a portion of what you worked for Right?

Speaker 2: 16:07

Yeah, we're, we're not. We've got some, you know, we've got some money on the table too. So we I mean it's it's it's important for us to fight for them too, because we're fighting for ourselves as well.

Speaker 1: 16:17

Absolutely, that's wonderful. Well, if I ever get into a car accident, I'm definitely calling you. And what is one last piece of advice you would give to someone that has been involved in an accident or just needs information?

Speaker 2: 16:33

Last piece of advice I would give. It was really just reach out to an attorney. Reach out to us. We'll guide you every step of the way, at least if you're not sure you want to pursue a case. If you're not sure you have a case, give us a call. Our number is 817-890-4645. We're available 24-7 for new personal injury cases. We are bilingual, we take cases all throughout the state of Texas and we will guide you through everything. If you have a case, we'll guide you through all of it. If you have a case and you're not sure you want to pursue, we're not going to be hounding you in order to take the case. We want our clients to feel comfortable.

Speaker 1: 17:09

That's wonderful, samantha. Thank you so much for coming on the show today and hopefully we see you next year, once you've succeeded all your goals.

Speaker 2: 17:17

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 17:18

And for all our guests out there, come see us again on the next Market it With Atma podcast.